Office of the Secretary of the Faculty - Arts, Sciences, and Engineering

FRAC Application Portal

Faculty Research Awards

The Faculty Research Awards Committee is pleased to announce grants to support faculty research in the School of Arts and Sciences during the 2023-2024 academic year. Below is a brief description of each award and its application deadlines. Additional details are included in the application forms. To view details and to apply, click the blue application buttons.

All applications and supporting documents must be submitted online. Proposals, CVs, and other supporting documents should be uploaded as directed in the Qualtrics applications. If you have questions please send an email to frac@tufts.edu.

YOUR APPLICATION IS MORE LIKELY TO BE SUCCESSFUL IF YOU FOLLOW THIS ADVICE:
  1. Do not cut and paste from another grant proposal. Keep in mind that your application will be read by people across the disciplines in Arts & Sciences. Explain the what, why, and how of your research project clearly and concisely so that people outside your field can understand it.
  2. Avoid technical or specialized language.
  3. Be sure to follow the word limit criteria listed for each category.
  4. Explain how the grant money will be spent (in addition to your attached budget).
  5. If the grant is to support a student, explain how the student's work will contribute directly to your own research project.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Grants-In-Aid (DEIJ GIA)
This award should be used as seed money or to cover extra expenses related to promoting and supporting faculty research and scholarship projects that focus on understanding and exploring racial inequities, the impacts of racial disparities, and/or promoting anti-racist interventions, in keeping with the University's commitment to evolving as an anti-racist institution.
Funding amount: Maximum $3,000
Eligibility: Tenure-track and tenured faculty members and full-time Professors of the Practice in Arts & Sciences.
Application deadline: Tuesday, March 26, 2024
DEIJ GIA application

Grants-In-Aid (GIA)
This award is typically used as seed money or to cover extra expenses related to disseminating research projects--for example, to help support book subventions and illustrations.
Funding amount: Maximum $2,000
Eligibility: Tenure-track and tenured faculty members and full-time Professors of the Practice in Arts & Sciences.
Application deadlines: Monday, September 18, 2023; Monday, November 20, 2023; Monday, January 8, 2024; Tuesday, February 20, 2024; Monday, May 6, 2024
GIA application

Faculty Research Fund (FRF)
This award is used for costs associated with faculty research projects, such as materials, salary for research assistants, and research-related travel.
Funding amount: $2,000 to $6,000
Eligibility: Tenure-track and tenured faculty members and full-time Professors of the Practice in Arts & Sciences.
Application deadlines: Monday, September 25, 2023 and Monday, January 22, 2024
FRF application

Senior Semester Leave (SSL)
This award provides tenured faculty members with a paid semester leave to engage in research on a major project and to prepare it for publication. This award may be combined with other sabbatical awards.
Funding amount: No direct research funds, instead the faculty receive a paid semester leave.
Eligibility: Full-time tenured faculty members in Arts & Sciences.
Application deadline: Monday, October 23, 2023
SSL application

Mellon Research Awards
This award provides research funds to be used while on junior leave.
Funding amount: Maximum $5,000
Eligibility: Junior faculty members (Assistant Professors) in Arts & Sciences.
Application deadline: Monday, November 6, 2023
Mellon application

Summer Faculty Fellowships
This award supports faculty summer research. Faculty may choose to receive this award as research funds, or as salary if they are not receiving other salary support for summer research.
Funding amount: $6,000 to $8,000 as salary or research funds
Eligibility: Tenure-track and tenured faculty members and full-time Professors of the Practice in Arts & Sciences.
Application deadline: Monday, November 6, 2023
Summer application

Open Access Publishing
This award is solely intended to support publication in truly open access journals, for the express purpose of promoting faculty research and visibility.
Funding amount: Maximum $3,000
Eligibility: Tenure-track and tenured faculty members and full-time Professors of the Practice in Arts & Sciences.
Application deadline: Applications accepted throughout the academic year until funds are expended. *Beginning March 1, 2024, Open Access Publishing applications may take up to one month to be reviewed as the committee evaluates the remaining FRAC funding rounds.  
Open Access Publishing application

A&S Distinguished Scholar Award 
This award recognizes one faculty member annually for outstanding research and scholarship. Eligibility rotates among the following groupings of departments:
1) Arts and Humanities, 2) Social Sciences, and 3) Natural Sciences and Mathematics.
In 2023-2024, departments in Arts and Humanities are eligible to nominate a senior faculty member for this award.
Nomination deadline: Nomination information will be sent to these departments in January 2024, and nominations are due Monday, February 26, 2024. 
Eligibility: Tenured faculty and full-time Professors of the Practice in rotating department group.

To explore other sources of research funding within Tufts, please visit the Office of the Vice Provost for Research: Internal Funding Opportunities.